Cricut Crafty

Last fall I bit the bullet and bought a Cricut Maker. For those of you who may not be in the crafty world, a Cricut is a digital cutting machine that will create designs from everything from paper to vinyl. It’s been a fun addition to my crafting addiction.

I thought I would share my latest project…A label for my vegetable oil bottle. Let me start by sharing the story. I LOVE the square bottles that olive oil comes in from Aldi. I emptied one some time back and started using it for my vegetable/canola oil. But, no one in my family knew what was in that bottle because it didn’t have a label. Now, enter the Cricut machine! I decided to make a vinyl adhesive label for the bottle. Instant Love!

It’s really a simple design using two fonts available from the Cricut Access Subscription… Haley and Folk Art Festival.

I typed in “OIL” sized it to about 1.25 inches tall. Then I typed Vegetable in the script font and sized it to fit the length left on the bottle. Weld everything together and cut it out! Weed away all the excess vinyl and use transfer tape to remove it from the backing paper. Then place it on your CLEAN bottle and you are done!

Now, what to label next???

A Big Change is on the Horizon

Do you have a mom story? You know, one where she volunteers you for something? I love my mom, Kathy, dearly. She is the founder of Mantle Rock Publishing and I have worked for her as her cover designer almost from the beginning. So last year when she volunteered me to write a 20,000 word novella, I thought she might be going, well, nuts.

I’ve always been the “cover artist” in our little band of authors. But now, thanks to support from mom and my two compadres, Pam Harris and Regina Merrick, I am announcing the upcoming release of my debut novella, All Yours, Art and Soul.

All Yours, Art and Soul is a Christian contemporary romance based on my fictional vision of St. Simons Island. Beth Kindall is a watercolor artist living her dream life in her home town. Trevor Garrett is looking for a home on the island who has instant chemistry with Beth. What might be the perfect relationship may never happen if Trevor’s realtor Kelly has anything to do with it.

Look for my next announcement about presale opportunities!

Rewind, Reset, Revive!

It’s Friday! Friday is my day off and I look forward to it as my time to rewind, reset and revive. Usually that involves laundry and housecleaning, but not today. Today I have 2 college kiddos lazing around searching for coffee and pancakes while piling up in pjs and doing the last of their spring break homework. It’s a wonderful change of pace that I must admit the empty-nesting mom in me relishes beyond belief. Add to all this wonderfulness, the pitter patter of rain on my skylight and I’m most content today.

Rewinding brings me to a book launch. A couple of months ago I released the book cover for Don’t Ask Me to Leave by Micki Clark. Micki’s book hit Amazon this week and is now officially on the open sales market. Here’s a little snippet about her story. Hope you’ll look into it on Amazon.

dont-ask-3dNewlywed Rachel Miller has everything she could want from life—the perfect husband, her dream job, and a cute little house in the country—but the daydream is shattered when her husband is killed in a tragic accident. Her mother-in-law, Nadine, takes her in as she tries to pick up the pieces, and their handsome neighbor Beau is willing to help…if Rachel will let him. Does she dare open her heart for a second chance at love?

Don’t Ask Me to Leave is a modern-day adaptation of the Biblical story of Ruth and Naomi.

Reset brings me to artwork. I’m working up some new projects to share with my watercolor class which start next week. I’m exploring YouTube videos and testing out techniques. I’ve almost settled on one for the first class but I want to make a sample painting this weekend. I’m looking forward to letting it all come together with a little paint and paper. I’ve also been mulling over a new Bible Journaling project. I’ve had several scriptures on my heart this week and one of them might make it into my journaling Bible.

Revive! Spring and allergies usher in the revival of all growing things. I’m thankful for the rain today because it will wash away some of the pollen that has been plaguing our family. I know that it only makes way for new pollen tomorrow. But today, I will enjoy the rain.

 

 

 

Sing!

Last week was a whirlwind for me. It started out with an office purge on Monday. My office at the church seems to be a collection of whatever comes into the church without a home to go to. I found bean bags, dead batteries, electrical wire and an outlet. Yesterday, upon my arrival to my office I found telephone cables and a box from Amazon with 2 costume head pieces in it. It’s always a surprise! After my purge, our minister Leslie asked me why I was mad at him. I replied, “Oh, because I cleaned my office?” He nodded and I told him he would have to step up his game. You see, we have a messiest office contest and he is now the winner.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday consisted of meetings and singings. Friday night we kicked off our Praise and Worship Workshop at church with Keith Lancaster. Friday night we gathered our elders, staff, audio team, praise team, and worship committee to talk about improvements we can make to our Sunday morning worship.

Saturday morning our church hosted a district meeting for the councilwoman who services our area. Different ministries from the church set up booths. Bill Walls and I set up a booth showcasing the artwork from our art classes, talked with some great people and gloated over each other’s work.

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Saturday afternoon was a 2 hour session with Keith, learning songs and the importance of blending old hymns with new contemporary pieces. Our church has done that for many years and I’m glad that as we move forward, we will continue mixing and blending. We learned a new song, All to Us. I really loved it. The message centers around the thought that God is all to us and without him we would be hopeless. It’s a truth that all Christians know, but it was the first time I had heard it sang to God. The proclaiming nature of this song reminds me of so many Psalms where David proclaims the glory and majesty of God. Our workshop culminated with a session during bible class Sunday morning and then a beautiful uplifting period of worship, communion and fellowship.

Last night Savannah had her last wind ensemble performance for the school year. Unknown to Ron and I, she has started learning bass clarinet. It was our first time to see her play it and I must say, she did a lovely job. The concert featured British pieces, including several marches which made Ron happy. Being a former tuba player, he really loves a good peppy march.

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In between all the busy-ness, I’ve been working on books and book covers. Micki Clark’s book, Don’t Ask Me to Leave is on pre-order on Amazon. I finished up some corrections for her and finished the back cover of her print book. I’ve worked on a cover for Cynthia Roemer that we are almost ready to release. Tonight I will begin formatting Carolina Dream for Regina Merrick. And this weekend, I will start work on covers for Suzanne Bratcher and Sandra Robbins. Whew!!! God is good!

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